Thank you for choosing Black Mountain Retreat Center for your event!

If you have any questions not answered by our website, please don’t hesitate to call us at 707-632-5629 or email reservations@blackmountaincenter.com. Janice Kane and Mark Poole are the Reservations Managers; you can also ask for Kerstin if they are not available.

1) Read through Rental Terms and Policies to understand our rental agreement terms, including our cancellation policy. Please call us if you have any questions!

2) Complete, sign and mail Rental Agreement Part 1, together with two payments by credit card or check to secure your reservation. Reservation deposit is $500 or more depending on your event length, and there is a refundable $300 security deposit.

3) Contact your insurer to request a Certificate of Liability Insurance naming ‘Padmasambhava Peace Institute’ as the ‘additional insured’ for the period covering your stay. If you don’t have an insurance agent, we have had success with The Event Helper.

4) Finalize whether you want vegetarian meals, G/F or vegan options, organic or ayurvedic options, or meals with meat. Contact all your group participants to find out about allergies or dietary restrictions. Please note the following points, and share with your group members as early as possible:

While Black Mountain Retreat Center cannot cater to dietary restrictions based on individual preferences, the center is very concerned to take into account restrictions based on serious allergies or other medical conditions such as diabetes. To best accommodate everyone’s health needs, retreatants should inform the registration manager / coordinator as early as possible of their allergies or G/F and vegan requests.

BMRC
regrets they are unable to accommodate people with life-threatening allergies to peanuts or tree-nuts, or with nightshade allergies.

Individuals following very specific diets, e.g. raw food, or juice only, should bring their own extra foods and use dining-hall fridge for storage. Foods may not be stored in the sleeping areas.

There are no discounts offered due to individual dietary variations.

5) Complete, sign and mail/fax/scan Rental Agreement Part 2, including the section with dietary information, 14 days ahead of your event.

6) Draw up a schedule of your daily activities, including meal times, and send to us, so that our staff can prepare properly for your event.

7) Because we have satellite internet with limited bandwidth, please notify your group members in advance and remind them on arrival that there are some restrictions on internet usage. Individuals may not download movies or upload photos, for example. However, as coordinator, do let us know in advance if your event needs intensive internet usage for specific times or projects, and we will be happy to help arrange that.

8)  Send reminders to group participants: a) Download and fill the Liability Release Form and bring it to the event. b) Cell-phones do NOT work at the center, so people should bring phone cards if they need to use our land-line. c) Internet usage is generally restricted to emailing and surfing; no downloads/uploads. d) Bring one warm layer of clothes even in summer as nights can get cold.

9) Email AND phone us (707-632-5629) about any last-minute changes to numbers, allergies, room or equipment needs.

10) Select a welcome/registration area for your group, and let your participants know where it is (most groups use “dining-hall, 2nd building on left when you come in”).

11) On arrival at the center, in case we didn’t already meet you, please introduce yourself at the office as the coordinator.

12) Enjoy your event, and always feel free to ask our staff for any support you may need.